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Hellman's is what most people think of as "real" mayonnaise. Unless they've actually tasted freshly-made mayonnaise, or even what you might call "esoteric" mayos, Hellman's is the pinnacle of what's readily available. Mayonnaise, real butter ... to me these are "real" ingredients (even the esoteric varities are real) that are a whole lot better-tasting than their fakers.

Besides, is there any conceptual difference between "designer" mayos and, say, various olive oils used for dipping? Not really.

God forbid Miracle Whip is used in anything I eat. Their current ad, that of, "We will not tone it down", just makes me nauseous.

To be honest I had no idea mayo was "out".

aaaaand we wonder why theres an obesity epidemic in this country? perhaps because many people are fond of glopping PURE FAT on top of everything they eat. ick. my roommate freshman year would eat mayo by the spoonful, straight from the jar. i've been turned off every since... tehina is a much better replacement.

I must have missed it.
Didn't know mayo was "gone" from the food scene.

I have always associated mayo with the result of a grilled cheese sandwich - the look, the smell, the taste...gag...

Even "real" mayonnaise from Hellman's or other regional/national brands has water in it, which (along with chemical stabilizers) lightens it up some. Jackiecat may be distressed to learn that Hellman's Real Mayo does not include HFCS unless they're allowed to count it as a "natural flavoring," and I don't think they can. They do list sugar as an ingredient, though.

And as for homemade not lasting—it lasts about a week in a sealed jar, and you can easily make just one cup (16 tablespoons, 8 sandwiches) with one egg yolk and a cup of oil. Heck, make it directly in the jar that you'll store it in if your immersion blender has one of those otherwise-useless whisk attachments. That kind of speed in an enclosed space is just perfect for homemade mayo in a wide-mouth jar. That's what I do.

I'm one of those Yurpian heathens who loves to dip her pommes de terre frites in mayo...

And I wasn't aware it was "out," either.

Yeah, homemade mayo is best. But I keep a jar of Hellmann's in the fridge.

@mdeatherage

Actually, hellman's doesn't even contain chemical stabilizers (unless you count the lecithin in egg yolks). There's some EDTA in there, which is what prevents it from oxidizing (the main problem with homemade mayo, and why Hellman's lasts longer than homemade), but that's a preservative, not a stibilizer. As far as mass-produced products go, Hellman's is way up there on the "purity" scale with Häagen-Dazs!

And I'm with you - I almost always have some form of homemade mayo in the fridge (be it mayo, aioli, or burger "sauce"). Countless uses for the stuff. Actually, I just used some mayo today because I ran out of eggs halfway through breading a batch of chicken cutlets. A little mayo/mustard/flour batter works great as the "sticky" layer in breading.

Mayo is gross except for egg, potato, or tuna salad, and then just enough to barely hold it together. I make my chicken salad with plain yogurt because it tastes lighter and brighter. I also eat it with steamed artichokes at my parents' house, I can't do it anywhere else, same with drinking milk with dinner, I can only do it at my parents' house.

Kenji: One takes corrections seriously from the author of the "foolproof pie crust" recipe, as well as the revised mashed potato technique that I think everyone should use. I sit corrected; I saw the EDTA in the ingredient list but mistook it for a stabilizer (i.e., "protecting quality" by keeping it from separating even though water is the second ingredient).

One of my key takeaways from Ruhlman's book Ratio was that you really can make a tiny batch of mayonnaise if that's all you need. If you truly only need ½ cup or so and you find it just too eggy, I suppose you can always break the yolk into a small bowl and pour half of it into your mixing bowl to start the emulsion, but I doubt that'd be necessary. One yolk will probably emulsify nearly two cups of oil if properly mixed, I think I read, so making ½ cup from one yolk should be no problem, and it really does take about a minute with that stupid electric whisk that I never thought I'd use for anything.

(The other use I found for it? Stirring tahini in the big jar mine comes in. I never got it that thoroughly mixed with anything else. But I don't use it for actual whisking; it's just too hard to control outside of a jar.)

I love mayo and now that it is made with free range eggs and they do the range including the lighter ones, my girlfriend will eat it to.

Anything as gloriously French as mayonnaise and french fries is okay in my book - mayo has such a weird place in culture now. Beloved among chefs and broadly in Middle America, but ignored by a significant slice of food-lovers.

I am a huge fan of Duke's Mayonnaise. It has tons of flavor and it might just be a southern thing, but it is delicious.

Gross. Mayo freaks me out.
Homemade, flavored mayos as a component to a dish are the only versions excluded.

I used to use mayo on a lot of things, but as I taught myself to be a better cook, I generally discovered that there are far superior sauces out there. I'll use it in a potato or chicken salad, though. And I'll still dip fries in it, if I happen to be in a situation where fries and mayo are in alignment in front of me, but I don't seek it out.

mayo is a perfect condiment. and to those who say it's gross "by itself"... what condiments do you eat "by themselves"?

I must say though i'm surprised to hear about mayo in mashed potatoes. I love the stuff as much as anybody but i've never heard of that.

with french fries, i love to double-dip once in mayo, and once in ketchup. Mayo is a must on almost any cold-cut sandwich, and an absolutely essential supporting player in potato salad.

also, i've made my own mayonnaise, but i'm not totally convinced that it's better than hellman's. some things are best left to the experts...

I do love mayo. I grew up in a brown rice and broccoli kind of family, and when I was going through adolescent growth spurts I'd eat mayo straight out of the jar (for some reason we always had mayo in the fridge), which I suspect was a response to the lack of necessary fat in my diet.
I still love mayo. I often doctor up Hellman's if I'm too lazy to make my own- whisk in some olive oil, or even better, olive oil in which I've roasted garlic, or bacon fat, as well as herbs and spices and such. And when I make grilled cheese sandwiches, I smear mayo on the outside of the bread instead of melting butter- works incredibly well.

Poor Beth. I almost gagged with you at the thought of washing the mayo jar as a child. I will use a limited amount of Hellman's in recipes, but I have to hold my breath, avert my gaze as I glop it from the jar, and stir it in very quickly. There is also a waiting period before I can eat the food.

As far as store-bought mayo-esque condiments go, Miracle Whip wins hands down, in my opinion!

On the other hand, few things are better than fresh, homemade mayo.

A comeback? When did it go away?

Homemade Mayonnaise is very easy and cheap to make. You can serve it plain or liven it up with herbs, sriracha sauce, or anything else that comes to mind. See the link below for a video instruction. The most important tip is to use a healthy, neutral oil, such as canola oil. The recent mass-marketing of extra virgin olive oil mayo is more about tricking consumers (since most of us know olive oil is healthy) than for achieving optimum flavor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOymdsYMoqQ

Crud. I forgot to add that the oil should be divided in this recipe- use 1/2 cup to start and the rest if the mayo is too thick for your tastes.

Also, adding a little roasted garlic to the mayo for sandwiches is just Heavenly. Of course, if you are going to the trouble of making homemade mayo it isn't much of a stretch to make the bread and create a leftover turkey sandwich that is actually yummy. hee hee